UVA Women's Basketball Moves to 10-0 With Blowout Win Over UNCW

McKenna Dale scored a season-high 22 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 78-36 win over Seahawks

The ability to turn defense into offense is a valuable team skill and the Cavaliers executed that to perfection on Sunday afternoon.

Forcing 23 turnovers and scoring 33 points off of those turnovers, the Virginia women's basketball team blew out UNC-Wilmington by a score of 78-36 on Sunday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena to move to 10-0 on the season.

Virginia jumped out to an early lead with the help of a 11-0 run featuring six points from London Clarkson and four from McKenna Dale to take a 17-4 lead and force UNCW to call two early timeouts. At the end of the quarter, the Cavaliers led 19-8.

The UVA bench scored nine of the team’s 19 points in the first quarter and the Cavaliers forced six turnovers and scored eight points off of them. 16 of the 19 points were in the paint as the Hoos executed on the higher percentage shots.

In the second quarter, the Seahawks strung together an 8-0 run to make the score 25-20 after being behind by as many as 16 points. However, McKenna Dale drained a three-pointer and finished a pull up jumper later in the quarter to help UVA respond and push the lead to 32-20.

Earning the starting spot in today’s matchup, McKenna Dale was electric in the second quarter, scoring 11 points on 4/7 shooting and 3/6 from beyond the arc. As the rest of the team was just 3/11 and scored eight points, Dale took on the offensive load to help stretch the lead.

At halftime, UVA led 38-22, and the Hoos had 11 team assists on 16 baskets, showcasing unselfishness and the strong team chemistry in the Virginia locker room.

Having a 16-point lead at halftime was good, but the Cavaliers weren’t done yet. The Hoos went on to outscore the Seahawks 40-14 in the second half, solidifying a blowout win.

The third quarter began with a 14-0 Virginia run to take a 52-22 lead. Aided by 11 points off of turnovers and eight second-chance points, the Cavaliers made easy baskets on offense and swarmed UNCW on defense, keeping them in single digits for the quarter. In addition, seven different UVA players contributed an assist during the third quarter. UNCW managed a few points late in the period, but the score was 58-29 heading into the fourth. 

The fourth quarter was an opportunity for the bench to shine for UVA, as they continued to do throughout the game. Led by London Clarkson with 12 points and freshman Cady Pauley with a career-high 11 points, the UVA bench scored 36 points, matching the scoring production of the entire UNCW team.

Another dominant quarter helped Virginia extend the lead even more, and the final score was an impressive 78-36 victory for the Cavaliers. UVA was 31/75 (41.3%) from the field and 7/28 (25%) from beyond the arc, while UNCW was 16/63 (25.4%) from the field and a dismal 1/13 (7.7%) from three.

McKenna Dale recorded six rebounds and 22 points, the most she has scored in a Virginia uniform. In addition to Clarkson’s 12 points and Pauley’s 11, Mir McLean added 11 points and nine rebounds while coming off the bench for the game.

Now 10-0 on the season, Virginia will look to keep this historic start rolling on Wednesday night in Williamsburg against William & Mary. 

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